Archive: May 2011

The American Antiques Show, held in New York during antiques week will no longer be the place to find us in January. In the midst of financial difficulties, The Folk Art Museum has chosen not to continue with the show that has come to be known as TAAS. The museum has turned the show over to The Art Fair Company, an organization that runs high end art shows. Under the new management, it apparently will be quite a different show. Karen DiSaia has done a great job of managing the show for the Read More...

I am currently researching the adventures of Hanover, Massachusetts clockmaker John Bailey Jr. In the 1815 to 1825 period, he was making regular trips to the south (Murfreesborough and Edenton, NC.), where he would temporarily set up shop to sell and repair clocks. He actually advertised his services in the Edenton Gazette. To date, I have located 5 clocks that he sold in NC. They each bear the name of their original owner on the dial. I know that there are more out there, so all of you Read More...

I just spent two days in Ashville, NC for a Appraiser's Seminar hosted by Brunk Auctions. What a terrific idea, for Brunk to host an event where appraisers earn continuing education credits from The International Society of Appraisers while attending lectures by experts in various specialties. I was there to speak on methods of evaluating and appraising antique clocks. I didn't prepare very much, had about 15 slides in a Power Point presentation, and was a little nervous that I wouldn't have Read More...

Spent the day at the Brimfield, MA flea market today. Crowds were pretty heavy despite the cloudy/drizzly day. Didn't make any great discoveries this time, although I have done very well at various times in the past. For anyone who has not had the cultural experience of visiting Brimfield during one of their events, it is a must see. Held three separate weeks per year, the entire town is taken over by thousands of antique and junk dealers, collectors and enthusiasts. The people watching is Read More...

We bought a superb Newport demi-lune games table at CRN Auctions last weekend. It was made in Newport, RI., and has a wonderful cabriole front leg with carved ball & claw foot and carving on the knee. The table dates to the 1760s and has the classic Newport style undercut carved talons on the Chippendale front foot and Queen Anne style feet in the rear. The semi-circular top flips open to reveal a storage well for the card-playing supplies of the day. The table came from a Newport family in the Read More...

I'm heading home from this year's furniture forum, which was terrific. The subject of the conference was the furniture of southeastern Pennsylvania. It was accompanied by a new book entitled Paint, Pattern & People: Furniture of Southeastern Pennsylvania, 1725-1850. The book and exhibit represent several years of research and hard work by Winterthur Senior Curator of Furniture, Wendy Cooper and her assistant, Lisa Minardi. For the exhibit, they assembled an amazing collection of 18th and early Read More...